• Home
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Marketing
  • Social Media
  • Business Tools
  • Blogging
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest BlogLovin RSS
Onaplatterofgold.com
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Marketing
  • Business Tools
  • Social Media
  • More
    • Money Matters
    • Blogging
    • Hot Startups
    • Submit Your Guestposts Articles
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Onaplatterofgold.com
Facebook Bought Messaging App WhatsApp For $19bn
Trending News

Facebook Bought Messaging App WhatsApp For $19bn

Platterofgold EditorBy Platterofgold Editor21 February 2014Updated:17 January 20221 Comment3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit WhatsApp Email
Facebook buys WhatsApp
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest WhatsApp Email
Freshdesk is the best customer support tool!

Facebook has bought messaging app WhatsApp in a deal worth a total of $19bn (£11.4bn) in cash and shares. It is the social networking giant’s biggest acquisition to date.

WhatsApp has more than 450 million monthly users and is popular with people looking to avoid text messaging charges.

In a statement announcing the deal, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg described WhatsApp’s services as “incredibly valuable”.

WhatsApp allows users to send messages over internet connections, avoiding text messaging fees. The company claims it is currently registering one million new users a day.

It makes money by charging users a subscription fee of $1 per year, although it offers a free model as well.

Silicon Valley’s newest billionaires

Facebook buys whatsappThe deal to buy it includes $4bn in cash and approximately $12bn-worth of Facebook shares, plus an additional $3bn in stock to WhatsApp’s founders and employees at a later date.

On a conference call to discuss the deal, WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum said he planned to operate the firm “independently and autonomously”. He will also become a member of Facebook’s board of directors.

“We’re excited and honoured to partner with Mark and Facebook as we continue to bring our product to more people around the world,” Mr. Koum said in a statement.

Mr. Zuckerberg said the prospect of a deal was first floated just 11 days ago.

The Facebook founder said he believed WhatsApp was on track to have a billion users but insisted he had no plans to place advertising on WhatsApp’s interface, saying he did not think ads were the best way to make money from messaging systems.

Once the deal is finalized, Mr. Koum and co-founder Brian Acton are set to become Silicon Valley’s newest billionaires. WhatsApp has about 50 employees in total.

Siphoning billions

Cathy Boyle, a senior analyst at research firm eMarketer, said WhatsApp was valuable to Facebook for several reasons beyond advertising, including its younger user base and its popularity overseas.

“WhatsApp actually has greater penetration in a lot of international markets than Facebook,” Ms Boyle told the BBC.

She added that it was notable that Facebook’s chief financial officer David Ebersman referred to the telecommunications industry when discussing the firm’s purchase.

“WhatsApp is trying to siphon the billions that the telecom industry would make from [traditional SMS text messaging]” she said.

Ben Bajarin, from California-based technology consultants Creative Strategies, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the deal would allow Facebook to tap into a rapidly growing market.

“WhatsApp is on a path towards a billion users,” he said. “They’re growing exponentially – much, much faster than Facebook.

“For Facebook, this is a key growth area where, even if they don’t monetize this product, this is a way that Facebook can get the next billion smartphone consumers into their ecosystem… to touch them and engage with them in other ways than just the Facebook platform.”

Shares in Facebook dropped 5% in after-hours trading before recovering slightly.

Prior to this acquisition, Facebook’s biggest purchase had been Instagram for $1bn in 2012.

It had also reportedly offered $3bn to acquire the photo messaging service Snapchat.

…….
As reported by BBC News

Facebook WhatsApp
Platterofgold Editor
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • Tumblr

Onaplatterofgold features a team of bloggers and content writers. You can also send your article to us at [email protected]. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Related Posts

Best WhatsApp Alternatives To Download Right Now

18 January 2021

How To Effectively Use Facebook To Promote Small Businesses

21 December 2020

YouTube Down, site not working for users across the globe

17 October 2018

1 Comment

  1. Millie on 22 March 2014 8:04 pm

    A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment.
    I do believe that you should publish more about this issue, it may not be a taboo subject but generally people don’t talk about such topics.

    To the next! Best wishes!!

    Reply

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Stay In Touch
  • Facebook 1.8K
  • Twitter 6.2K
  • Pinterest 762
  • Instagram 400
Power your website with a2Hosting  
Get SocialBee to manage your social media

Get More Leads
With Less Effort!

Automate your social media posting so you can focus on what truly matters.  14-day FREE trial, no credit card required 

  • Category based post
  • Automagically add content
  • Custom URLs & tracking
  • Audience analysis

Try it for free here!

 

 

Our Picks

How to Hire Licensed and Insured Moving Company

10 May 2022

3 Online Smart Marketing Tips For Small Business Owners

3 May 2022

How To Hire Good and Licensed Customs Brokers For Your Business

29 April 2022

Why You Should Host Your Website With A2Hosting

27 April 2022
Build new landing pages with Instapage
Use AI-powered logo maker to brand your business
New To Blogging? This Is How To Start A Profitable Blogging Business
About Us
About Us

Onaplatterofgold is your #1 source for startup and small business resources. Our platform features content and articles on and about entrepreneurship, marketing, business tools, and applications for businesses to boost their productivity.

We're accepting new partnerships right now.

Email Us: [email protected]
Contact: +44-792-6315-597

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest BlogLovin
New Comments
  • Salame on Best Tools To Convert Blog Posts To Downloadable Ebooks
  • Harry on How to Invest in Coins for the First Time: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Heena on Impeccable Tips To Manage A Fully Remote Workforce
  • Olivia on Tips To Build a Competitive Amazon Marketing Campaign – A Definitive Guide

Subscribe to POfGold

Get our latest blogposts on marketing, social media, growth hacking tips and tricks to improve your business...

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest BlogLovin RSS
  • Become a Better Blogger
  • Social Media Tools
  • Submit Guestpost
© 2022 Onaplatterofgold.com | Proudly hosted by A2Hosting - one of the world's best Webhosting Companies!

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.